A SHOCK report into the hounding of poppy seller Olive Cooke revealed yesterday that her details were kept on file by a staggering 99 charities.

The 92-year-old’s name, address and phone number had been bought by 70 of the organisations in their hunt for donations, the inquiry said. Mrs Cooke, who sold Remembrance Day poppies for nearly eight decades, had received more than 460 donation requests in one year, it added.

The widow committed suicide by throwing herself into the Avon Gorge during a bout of depression after the begging letters and phone calls.

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Todays Fundraising Standards Board’s report said charities should be forced to take no for an answer.

This investigation underlines the need for a charity’s right to ask for funds to be balanced with the public’s right to say no

FSB chairman Andrew Hind

FSB chairman Andrew Hind said: “This investigation underlines the need for a charity’s right to ask for funds to be balanced with the public’s right to say no. There needs to be an easier way for individuals to control how they are approached by charities and greater organisational commitment to meeting donors’ needs.”

Mrs Cooke’s family said: “We want Olive to be remembered for her incredibly kind, generous and charitable nature. Far from being a victim, she was a strong believer in the importance of charities... At the same time she was concerned about the amount of letters and contact she was receiving from charities.

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Olive took her own life during a bout of depression

“We are sure she would have been very upset to know that her details were shared or sold by some charities who she had agreed to support.”

Great-grandmother Mrs Cooke, of Fishponds, Bristol, is believed to have sold 30,000 poppies in aid of the Royal British Legion. Her body was found at the bottom of the 50ft drop last May with a note saying she could “take no more”.

SWNS

Olive and her husband, Leslie Hussey-Yeo, on their wedding day Leslie died in action

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The FSB said that of 99 charities who had her on file, only 14 made it easy for regular donors to cancel by giving them an ‘opt out’ box to tick. Many had obtained her details from a third party – 43 from other charities and 26 from commercial suppliers.

Mr Hind concluded: “Mrs Cooke’s experience demonstrates the inevitable consequences of a fundraising regime where charities have been willing to exchange or sell the personal details of donors to each other, and to commercial third parties.”

“Her experiences were echoed in the many complaints that the FRSB received following her death.”